The Mad Queen (The Fae War Chronicles Book 5)
Page 70
Luca walked over to her as she contemplated where to begin.
“I would never have guessed that I would witness the crowning of two Queens in my lifetime,” he said to her in an undertone.
“I still have no concept of normalcy in this world, but I know what you mean,” Tess replied tiredly. She brushed at the shredded remnants of Luca’s shirt. “You certainly look like a mess.”
He smiled and caught her hand, brushing a kiss across her knuckles. His touch ignited mingled pleasure and pain, her skin bright red from the burn of the mingled heat and cold of Mab and Molly’s final moments.
“It looks worse than it is,” he said.
“Thank goodness for that,” she said, raising her eyebrows.
He chuckled and checked her over, his large hands gentle as he examined the burn on her sword hand and the bruising on her shield arm.
“Nothing that won’t heal,” she told him.
“Thank goodness for that,” he repeated with a grin.
She shook her head but smiled despite herself. “Let’s go see where we can help. Is Donovan all right, or did Mab take him with her?”
“I didn’t stop to check,” replied Luca as they walked around the perimeter of the gathered group. Tess couldn’t help one last glance at Molly’s body. Luca touched her shoulder supportively. “There is no victory without cost,” he said in a low voice.
“I know,” she said. She sighed. “I’m just tired of seeing my friends die.”
He nodded. “It is a difficult thing.”
They walked in companionable silence to where Tess had left Donovan with Vivian. Tess sank onto her haunches and reached out to press two fingers to Donovan’s jaw. She blew out a breath when she felt his heart beating. “Well. Not a lot of wins in this one, but I guess this is one of them.”
She cut the bonds on Donovan’s hands and rolled him to his side, brushing his dark hair away from his face before standing. “He was one of the first Unseelie I met, back when Finnead brought me through the Gate. I sat at his table during the feast in Finnead’s honor.” The memory brought a small smile to her lips. “He and Emery, Bren and Guinna. Ramel. In their own ways, they did their best to make me feel welcome.”
Luca nodded. “And now they are free from the tyranny of Mab.”
“Some more than others,” Tess murmured, walking over to another still Unseelie and shaking her head when she couldn’t find any signs of life.
They spent the next hours helping as they could in the throne room. Forin and Farin found Tess, their auras sparking excitedly. Farin proudly relayed the saga of their journeys to tell the two Queens of the Bearer’s plan. Tess asked them to bear another message to the forces outside the throne room: the battle was won, and now they needed the healers and any others that could be spared. The Glasidhe twins took the task eagerly, bowing and streaking away.
Tess wove taebramh lights to chase away the shadows. Though weariness dragged at her limbs, she forced herself to press through it. Others had fared far worse than she during this battle. To her tired delight, Robin and Sage were among the first to arrive in the throne room. They bowed to their respective Queens and acknowledged the new Unseelie Queen with courteous salutes. To her credit, Andraste rolled up her sleeves and assisted the healers. Every so often she disappeared, and Tess glimpsed her at one point standing with her back to one of the obsidian pillars where she thought no one could see her. The new Unseelie Queen leaned her head back against the pillar, taking deep breaths and closing her eyes. Then she drew back her shoulders and reemerged, helping one of the Seelie healers tend to one of her subjects.
“I wonder if Vell and Titania planned for her to be here,” Tess mused quietly to Luca as he splinted the leg of a Seelie warrior. The woman was mercifully unconscious, though she’d jerked when Luca had set the bone.
“We cannot know the full thoughts of our Queens,” he replied with a shrug. “And it has happened how it has happened.”
Tess nodded. “How do you think she’ll be a different Queen from Mab?”
Luca straightened and wiped his palms on his trousers. “I’m not one of her subjects. I have no Queen, only a herravaldyr who also happens to be the Vyldretning.”
She frowned at his terse answers. She remembered his bitterness and anger after he’d killed the bone sorcerer. She hoped once they finished the heartrending work after this battle, they’d have time to rest, and she’d be able to talk to him about it all. For now, she caught his hand as he turned to find the next task. He looked at her and she kissed him tenderly, tasting salt and smoke on his lips. When she drew back, he gave a great sigh.
“You are my anchor, anganhjarta,” he murmured. “You draw me back and remind me what it is to feel.”
“We are each other’s anchors,” she said in agreement, brushing at a smudge of ash on his jaw with her thumb.
“Always,” he said with a nod.
The grueling work slowly ground to an end. Tess glimpsed Vivian and Tyr together, the silver-haired Sidhe making good use of his restored voice, the low murmur of their conversation continuing unbroken as they worked. She wondered if he would become a bard again, and if he would rejoin the Unseelie or choose another path.
Finally, the question of the two bodies in the center of the throne room could not be avoided. A bit unwillingly, Tess joined the three Queens. Andraste stood in the center, Titania to her left and Vell to her right. The Seelie Queen and the Vyldretning waited, silently, for her to speak.
“They are dead,” she said finally. “There is no need to dishonor ourselves by thoughts of any more vengeance. We can take nothing more from them.”
Titania smiled, though Tess wasn’t sure whether it was in agreement, and Vell gave a single nod.
“This will no longer be the seat of the Unseelie in the White City,” Queen Andraste continued. “It has for too long been a tomb, and now it will serve as the final resting place of these two.”
Seelie, Unseelie and Vyldgard worked together to build the two pyres. The rest of the dead had all been transported to their respective Courts, though Tess wasn’t sure where the Unseelie would go now. Vell reached down and broke the cord of the necklace still holding the river-stone against Molly’s throat. Everything but the stone itself crumbled to ash in her hand. The Vyldretning offered the stone to Tess, who took it and put it back into her belt-pouch without ceremony.
Tess helped Ramel lift Molly onto the pyre. Andraste and Donovan arranged Mab’s body. Thea placed a scrap of wood at the foot of both pyres, inscribed with a forge-rune. They all stepped back. At a nod from Queen Andraste, Thea ignited the runes. Flames quickly engulfed the pyres, white smoke rising into the icy reaches of the cavernous dome overhead. Luca and Ramel stood on either side of Tess as they watched the pyres burn. They stood for a while after the Vyldretning and the Seelie Queen led their fighters out of the throne room. Queen Andraste stood at the foot of Mab’s pyre, her beautiful face inscrutable. Tyr and Vivian remained as well, positioning themselves at a respectful distance. Sayre and Guinna stood closest to the new Unseelie Queen.
Finally, Andraste turned to leave. She gave Tess a nod, which Tess returned with the understanding that it was an exchange between the new Queen and the Bearer rather than any sign of actual affection. Sayre and Guinna followed their newly crowned monarch. Vivian walked toward Tess. Tyr remained where he stood.
“It’s over,” Vivian said to Tess with a sigh.
Tess smiled humorlessly. “It’s never over.” She felt the heat of the flames from Molly’s pyre wash over her. Somehow it felt cleansing, this warmth from true, burning fire rather than sorcery.
Vivian gazed back at the pyres, her face contemplative. The light from the fire made her red hair look even more vibrant. “I think that’s a good thing, that it’s never over.”
Tess glanced at the young Paladin, the woman who, she was told, had the blood of Gwyneth running through her veins as well and could have been the Bearer, if circumstances had aligned different
ly. “You’re right,” she said.
“It means there are always more adventures ahead, doesn’t it?” Vivian said, her blue eyes sparkling.
Tess smiled even though every part of her ached with exhaustion. “Yes. There are always more adventures to be had in Faeortalam.”
“Perhaps more than one would like,” Ramel contributed.
“No such thing,” retorted Vivian, keeping her voice respectfully quiet but shaking her head so that her curls flew about her face.
Ramel smiled. “I think it will be good to have a Paladin around again.”
“It took you until now to make that decision?” Vivian asked.
“We had to see how you performed in your first battle,” Ramel replied.
Vivian pressed her lips together.
“And you did well,” Tess said definitively. The Caedbranr nudged a thought into her mind. She blinked at its suggestion. Are you sure?
When am I not? replied the Sword.
Tess sighed and smiled. She reached behind her neck and unclasped the cord holding Gwyneth’s pendant, turning to Vivian. “This once belonged to our ancestress Gwyneth.” She held it out to the Paladin.
“The last Bearer,” Vivian said with a nod. Then she looked at Tess in confusion. “But you’re the Bearer. It belongs to you.”
“Her legacy is not solely mine,” said Tess with a smile. “After all, there are far too many adventures in Faeortalam for me to handle alone.”
A blush of pleasure suffused Vivian’s cheeks as she reached out and took the pendant from Tess, her movements hesitant as she fastened it around her neck. Her eyes widened. “It’s…warm. Pulsing, like a heartbeat.”
Tess smiled. “Listen to it when it gives you counsel.”
Vivian nodded. “I will.”
Tyr caught Tess’s eye and gave her a look of approval. They all turned back to watch the flames of the pyres for a few more moments in silence.
“I think it is time for us to go,” said Luca finally.
“Time for us to leave this behind,” Tyr murmured.
Tess stared one last time at the vague outline of the body on the burning pyre. Then she nodded and turned toward the great doors that led out of the throne room.
“Time for us to meet the next adventure.”
OTHER NOVELS BY JOCELYN A. FOX,
AVAILABLE ON KINDLE AND IN PAPERBACK:
The Iron Sword
The Crown of Bones
The Dark Throne
The Lethe Stone
Midnight’s Knight: A Fae War Chronicles Novel
THE FIRST THREE NOVELS ARE ALSO COLLECTED IN A SPECIAL EDITION,
AVAILABLE ON KINDLE:
The Fae War Chronicles Omnibus Edition
Acknowledgements
Thank you to the production team: Peter at Bespoke Book Covers for his patient and talented work on my cover designs; Maureen Cutajar at Go Published Formatting Services for her flexibility and attention to detail in the formatting of this book; Ilana Harkavy and her team at Nailed It! Media for helping me to manage my “author brand” across several social media platforms; and Ronn Dula, for his professional eye and editing prowess, doggedly winning the war against semi-colons (ironic, I know, to put that at the end of this sentence.)
To Quinn: I hope you enjoy your namesake’s adventures. Thank you for your honest feedback and unabashed fanboy moments. And yes, you’ll be the first person I call for casting when the series is headed to the silver screen. To Erin: every novel brings me a new appreciation for our friendship and creative relationship. Even with all of life’s changes (the squish!), your thoughtful comments on these characters never fail to hit the mark. To Brynn: your suggestions and genuine love for this series has meant a great deal to me. And finally, to my family: thanks for putting up with my creative eccentricities over the years, being my biggest fans, and generally just being fantastic.
As always, I will close by thanking you, the reader. All of you, collectively, have brightened my experience as an author immeasurably. Your words and your passion for this world and these characters constantly pushes me to be a better writer, to think about the conflicts that I want to examine in each book, and to never, ever give up on myself in this journey of creativity. Once upon a time there was a young girl who filled black and white journals with stories about magic and fairies, and you all have helped her dream of becoming an author and sharing her stories with the world come true.
Until the next adventure!
Jocelyn A. Fox, June 2017
About the Author
Jocelyn A. Fox is the bestselling author of the epic fantasy series The Fae War Chronicles, which include The Iron Sword, The Crown of Bones, The Dark Throne, and The Lethe Stone. The series also includes a full-length prequel novel, Midnight’s Knight. The Mad Queen is her sixth novel. She believes that storytelling can change the world, superheroes do exist in real life, dogs are the best kind of people, and there is no such thing as “too much coffee.”
You can find her at www.jocelynafox.com, or on the following platforms:
Facebook:
www.facebook.com/author.jocelyn.a.fox
Twitter:
www.twitter.com/jafox2010
Instagram:
@jocelynafox
Amazon Page:
www.amazon.com/Jocelyn-A.-Fox/e/B0051DX7G0
Table of Contents
Title Page
Copyright
Table of Contents
Prologue
Chapter 1
Chapter 2
Chapter 3
Chapter 4
Chapter 5
Chapter 6
Chapter 7
Chapter 8
Chapter 9
Chapter 10
Chapter 11
Chapter 12
Chapter 13
Chapter 14
Chapter 15
Chapter 16
Chapter 17
Chapter 18
Chapter 19
Chapter 20
Chapter 21
Chapter 22
Chapter 23
Chapter 24
Chapter 25
Chapter 26
Chapter 27
Chapter 28
Chapter 29
Chapter 30
Chapter 31
Chapter 32
Chapter 33
Chapter 34
Chapter 35
Chapter 36
Chapter 37
Chapter 38
Chapter 39
Chapter 40
Chapter 41
Chapter 42
Chapter 43
Chapter 44
Chapter 45
Chapter 46
Chapter 47
Chapter 48
Chapter 49
Chapter 50
Chapter 51
Chapter 52
Chapter 53
Chapter 54
Other Novels by Jocelyn A. Fox
Acknowledgements
About the Author